Difference between revisions of "Lonelygirl15 The Story So Far..."

Revision as of 12:56, 4 January 2007

Special Request from The Creators: The Creators of lonelygirl15 appreciate all the effort put forth by the fans to make the LGPedia the trove of LG15 information that it has become. They now charge the LGPedia community with a new mission: to create a Story So Far... section. In a nutshell, they would like a concise yet comprehensive introduction to LG15 for newbies linked to from the main page. The articles Breeniverse Timeline and Down The Rabbit Hole: The Hunt For Bree can be a starting-off point for this new viewer summary.

Who is lonelygirl15?

On May 24, 2006 the world was touched by a sweet young girl experiencing the troubles of everyday life, but it turned out to be something more than that. The truth about lonelygirl15's life was told, and the world was captivated . . .

Lonelygirl15, a.k.a. Bree, is an intelligent, yet awkward and geeky teenager. Raised in a strict, isolated household, she lacks many of the social skills possessed by her peers. She does not go out with friends much, and spends much of her time reading or playing juvenile games, such as interacting with her three stuffed animals, Thor the bear, Owen the Turtle, and P. Monkey. Bree is home schooled, and she and her parents have moved around a lot, which has limited her social experiences and has left her without any true friends. For a short while she attended high school, but the social pressures, teasing and her lack of experience proved too overwhelming for her to bear. However, she did leave her short stint in public high school with one friend, Daniel.

Her Beginning

In June of 2006, Bree bought a webcam and began posting on YouTube. At first, she posted simple, silly clips of her and her stuffed animals, which she explains were edited by a friend. Later on, however, she opened up to the audience and began sharing more and more about herself, her life, religion and troubles. Bree explains that her religion often prevents her from doing normal, teenage activities. Along the way, she introduces Daniel (as DanielBeast), her best and only real friend. Although he just sits on the bed and reads magazines most of the time, he occasionally participates in her clips, such as their spoof of each other, "Proving Science Wrong... with Lonelybeast and Danielgirl15".

Daniel and Bree spend more and more time together, going on hikes, swimming or just sitting in her bedroom. Bree's father asks Daniel to film Bree's play for her annual religious summer camp. Daniel refuses, and Bree's father reacts negatively, straining her friendship with Daniel. Afterwards, tears are shed and angry words are exchanged between the friends. Daniel posts a video explaining how he intends to attend her play, though not to film it, much to the surprise and happiness of Bree. Having gotten over the first hurdle in their public relationship, Bree excitedly shares that she has been chosen to participate in a sacred ceremony for her religion. Bree does not share many details about this religion except to say that she is truly committed to her faith.

Her Rebellion

Daniel invites Bree to a party, something she has never experienced, and with people she only met during her short time in public education (and who also teased her for her intellectual curiosity in science class). Her parents forbid her to go, but Bree decides to sneak out anyway. Much to her dismay, her father is waiting for her when she gets home. She is promptly placed under "house arrest," and her father forbids her to see Daniel anymore. After this first rebellious act against her parents, it seems as if Bree has become addicted to sneaking out, or perhaps she just relishes her newfound freedom. Daniel invites her on various "dates" and Bree is confused about teen love. She's never had a boyfriend before, and obviously never experienced a kiss, so Daniel's desire to be something more than friends befuddles her, especially when he kisses her at another party.

Her Religion

In the video A Change In My Life, Bree sheds some light on the ceremony for which she has been chosen to participate. For the ceremony, she has to learn a new language, go on a special diet, learn special steps, take iron supplements and receive weekly injections.

Although Bree promises to have a dinner with Daniel, she realizes that she has to attend an annual Fall Equinox ceremony for her religion. Again, her mysterious religion tears Daniel and Bree apart. She decides that her religion is more important to her than her only friend. She gains a "helper" whose role is to assist her in preparing for the upcoming ceremony. She is already studying hard, dieting, taking pills and receiving mysterious shots. Nevertheless, she enjoys this new female friend. Daniel, still angry, follows Bree and her helper, Lucy, in order to figure out the woman's purpose and motives. Bree sees the videoblog of Daniel following her and is upset. She tells Daniel via videoblog to leave her alone and stop following her. She also warns him about the power of those in her religious order. Daniel ignores her and begins to become alarmed by the extent to which her religion affects events in Bree's life.

Her Ceremony

Daniel finds inconclusive, yet disturbing stories about a man associated with Bree's religion, Aleister Crowley. He follows Bree and her helper yet again and in a secluded, wooded area stumbles upon the ceremony. As Daniel films part of the secret ritual, he notices that he is being watched. Fleeing through the darkness, he escapes into his car before being caught. After that, he follows Bree's helper Lucy to her apartment and waits until she leaves, breaking in and finding pictures on Lucy's computer of himself videotaping the ceremony, along with maps of locations in Texas, Arizona, California, Alaska and Alberta, Canada. Shaken and paranoid, Daniel is convinced that Bree's "cult," as he calls it, is following him as he followed them. Bree hears of this and becomes extremely worried about Daniel's safety. So he goes "underground," staying at a friend's home to hide from the cult. Daniel calls Bree, finding out that under the instruction of Lucy and other cult members Bree has lied to him about the ceremony. As it turns out, Bree knows very little about purpose and date of the ceremony. Furthermore, Bree's father seems to have little information about the injections he was giving to her. Bree realizes that Lucy will not answer any of Bree's questions. With Daniel's encouragement, Bree decides not to participate in the ceremony, and her parents surprisingly support her decision. Meanwhile, Bree is contacted by Gemma, an old friend, who warns her of the power and influence of the "Order". This prompts Bree to reunite with Daniel at his house.

Her Getaway

While at Daniel's house, Bree's parents contact her to tell her that she should sleep at Daniel's for the night, an extreme contrast to the conservative parents Bree has known. A few days later, Bree and Daniel, both worried, decide to return to her home after receiving no responses to their numerous phone calls. Upon arriving at the house, and from within the safety of Daniel's car they witness her parents leaving with Lucy and a man from the ceremony. Once the car drives off, the two enter Bree's house to examine the scene. Hidden inside the P. Monkey puppet, Bree finds a note and some money left by her parents. The note advises her to stay with Daniel. Daniel and Bree worry about whether or not Daniel's house is a safe location. They make the decision to run away. They sleep in the car for a few days before settling in to a motel. Bree seems to be her usual silly self, but Gemma warns her that she is being followed by a "Watcher", a member of the Order who is stalking them. They both flee again, finding another motel. Daniel is upset with Bree for not taking the situation seriously.

Her New Friend

Bree is left a video comment by Jonas, who wishes Lonelygirl and Danielbeast a Happy Thanksgiving. He does not give out much background information about himself, and says only that his parents mysteriously disappeared while sailing six years ago, and expresses his sympathy for Bree, a fellow "orphan". Meanwhile, Daniel and Bree return to their motel room to find it ransacked. With all of their money stolen, and now having only the small amount left that Daniel is carrying, and they flee once again. Daniel becomes increasingly aggravated and wants to go back home, but Bree is not convinced that they are safe. Bree receives a vblog from Gemma who fears she too is being followed by a Watcher. Scared to go home, Gemma hides out at a friend's home, noticeably distressed, much like Daniel when he realized he was being followed. The situation for Bree and Daniel grows increasingly worse when Daniel is informed by someone named Tachyon that his car is bugged with a tracking device. Deciding that the safest choice is to abandon the car, the now-homeless couple has to resort to dumpster diving for food and a dirty abandoned warehouse for shelter. In November 28th online chat session, it is suggested that Bree and Daniel accept the help of Jonas, who is apparently rich, unemployed and lives alone in a large house. However, Daniel and Gemma are not convinced. Bree chooses to stay with Jonas, but Daniel decides to return home.

A Betrayal

Jonas posts a video claiming that Gemma was lying about being in London; apparently she is in California and still active in the Order. This, along with Daniel's abandonment of her, drives Bree to sulk for several days. Meanwhile, Daniel decides to go back to Bree's house and investigate, finding evidence that leads him to break into a pharmaceutical warehouse. Bree decides to take action herself and begins by calling her friends and family to see if anyone has had contact with her parents. She initially seems to find no helpful information, but in a call to an uncle, receives a coded message from her father, indicating that they are OK and requesting that she meet them. She reminisces about her old friend Cassie with whom Bree made some prank phone calls during their brief friendship. By the time she finishes making her calls; Bree concludes that the "Gemma Incident" is good reason to avoid contact with those in "The Community."

On Christmas Day, much to Bree's surprise and elation, Daniel arrives at Jonas's house. However, on the following day, Jonas and Daniel wake to find that Bree is gone without a note or obvious explanation. According to Jonas, Bree has taken his car, one of his credit cards, and some of his cash. Daniel decides to examine Bree's recent videos more closely to find an explanation of her disappearance.

An Unthinkable Situation

Jonas and Daniel post a video of themselves on the road as they try to track down Bree. On New Year's Eve, they finally locate her. From Jonas's SUV, they watch as Bree meets with her father at an outside cafe. Instead of approaching her as Jonas suggests, Daniel urges Jonas to simply wait and follow Bree as she and her father drive off. As Bree's father's car makes its way into an outdoor, multi-level parking garage, Jonas and Daniel watch from a distance. As Bree and her father walk back to what seems to be the car she took from Jonas, another car pulls up quickly and two figures, a man and a woman, quickly approach Bree's father. Sensing the danger, Daniel and Jonas jump out of the SUV and call her to safety. Bree runs to Daniel, and after what sounds like a gun shot is heard, a brief struggle ensues. Due to the shaky camera, it is unclear exactly who struggles with whom. As the three flee from the scene in the SUV, a silhouette of three figures are left standing in the parking garage.

Bree's Father Is Dead

Daniel posts a video that he has spent all night editing over and over. Its a video in memory of Bree's father. Through this video, it is discovered that Bree's father was the one shot during the struggle in the parking garage. Daniel, Jonas, and Bree all travel to the beach and are seen staring into the ocean and walking on rocks. Daniel and Bree spend some time talking together, but throughout the whole video there are no words.